I sit here at Foothills Hospital in Calgary waiting for another medical appointment and think to myself what an appropriate place to write today’s blog. I was flown here in the early morning hours of September 29th 2011 in critical condition.
My heart had stopped functioning effectively even though I continued to have a heart beat and I was on a respirator due to my lungs being filled with fluid. I was rushed into surgery to remove the blockage and place a metal stent in its place. I was placed on an impella heart pump a, at that time, cutting edge medical device to circulate blood for me and to stave off brain damage. My blood was chilled to 30c to also protect me from lack of oxygen and nutrients for my systems. I had holes punctured in my back to drain over 2 litres of fluid from around my lungs which was choking the breath from my body. For 9 days I lay in a medically induced coma my doctors and family not knowing my fate. My brother told me later that he had come to believe that they only kept me on the machines as an experiment and that he believed I was already gone.
I awoke fully on the 10th day. I had only thought that one night had passed, I was told that it was 10 and I could not believe it. I was told some of what had occurred and was amazed at how excited everyone was to see me awake including the medical staff. I remember how tired I felt for the first time and how strange it was. I was weak, hungry and even simple tasks like moving my arms felt like a hard workout at the gym. I still had tubes and wires all over my body and that compounded the difficulty in mobility.
That day for lunch the nurse fed me my liquid lunch and I felt like a child being fed by a parent. Even eating seemed like a marathon run. That evening at my insistence they assisted me to a chair and let me eat my liquid supper on my own. The spoon felt like it weighed 20 pounds and it took every ounce of my strength to eat. As soon as the nurse left the room I ditched it and slurped my meal up with a straw.
The gravity of my situation weighed heavily on me. How could this have happened? I was healthy, ate reasonably well, didn’t drink to excess. My only vice is that I smoked and not even a pack a day. 3-5 cigarettes a day shouldn’t have done this.
The next day I started having visitors which weren’t my family. The first were Paul and Bev Meyers. They brought me sushi, with a critical look from the nurse and a reminder not to have the soy sauce, I dug in. My first real meal, it exhausted me eating it. I tried my hardest but couldn’t finish it. I actually worked out a code with the nurses so if I asked for a certain thing it meant clear my room and let me have a rest for a few hours. I felt aweful doing that to guests but I was so tired all the time.
That evening I stood on my own without assistance. I struggled to lift my 165 pound frame but I did it. I had to do it twice due to my now fiancée not getting to see it the first time. I fell asleep that night thinking these big accomplishments in my family’s eyes seemed so small for me.
Hopefully the next day would bring accomplishments that would seem more satisfying.
I woke up... Now what 